1,783 stories by "ELISABETH VINCENTELLI"
One of the best things about the new off-Broadway drama "My Name Is Asher Lev" is how old-fashioned it is. Although there are moments of levity, the show isn't afraid to be deeply earnest. W…
Writing a musical is hard. Writing a musical based on a movie with a passionate cult following is harder yet. A lot of your customers are going to feel personally betrayed by any change to w…
Most of the new play "The Twenty-Seventh Man" takes place in a 1952 Soviet prison cell. It contains four men, part of a larger group of 27 rounded up on Stalin's orders. They're more or less…
Holiday shows can get away with murder. They have familiar subjects, a captive audience and a limited run, so too often they don't try as hard as they should.
When it first appeared a couple…
There are many who say that Broadway has been taking pointers from Vegas lately. But the new musical "Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson" has its eye on another entert…
As befits its title, the new musical "Giant" doesn't lack for ambition. Based on Edna Ferber's Texas saga " which inspired a classic 1956 movie with James Dean " this isn't the intimate tune…
In case you were wondering: No, an avalanche of lewd double-entendres and sex jokes isn't enough to carry a comedy " you still need trivial things like, oh, a plot and characters.
David Wes…
You'd think a good musical could satisfy a theatergoer's craving for entertainment. Some catchy songs, maybe a few dances, a bit of romance: Who could ask for anything more?
Rupert Holmes, …
You can't hide from Chekhov! Not only are his classics revived again and again " even "Ivanov" just came back to us " the long-dead Russian playwright is infiltrating new works, too.
Case i…
As the title character in Chekhov's "Ivanov," Ethan Hawke plays a real piece of work. "You've brought darkness to our lives," a neighbor complains. The local doctor accuses Ivanov of "heartl…
You can't dream up a better subject for a play than Richard Nixon, a man of Shakespearean scope.
Douglas McGrath's new off-Broadway drama, "Checkers," offers occasional glimpses into the for…
There's a reason "Annie" has become a beloved classic since it first opened 35 years ago.
This is a show that was cooked up by pros at the top of their game. Charles Strouse and Martin Char…
When Richard Nelson introduced his multi-play family saga a couple of years ago, it felt a little gimmicky. Each show would be about the same Rhinebeck, NY, clan, the Apples " always played …
Told he must go to the hospital or die of heart failure, Charlie flat-out refuses to leave his home. He lost his will to live a long time ago.
In Samuel D. Hunter's wonderful new play, "The …
No wonder "The Heiress" has returned to Broadway time and again since its 1947 premiere. Romance, money, lies, manipulation and petticoats: Ruth and Augustus Goetz's melodrama has it all.
In…
"The show must go on," said the entertainment business, and for the most part it did: Most of the Great White Way was open for business yesterday, while other major institutions simply resch…
It's unclear who the title characters in "Bad Jews" are. Joshua Harmon's entertaining new comedy of hostility " did not open last night, as scheduled, at the Roundabout Underground " pits tw…
With a title like "Legendarium," you'd think the Big Apple Circus' new show would bring on horses rigged out to look like unicorns, or at least tumbling jesters re-enacting Grimm tales.
But…
You have to hand it to Karen Allen: The once-heroine of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" made a brave choice for her return to the stage after an 11-year absence. Instead of a familiar vehicle by o…
Based on its title, can you guess the subject of the new play "Wild With Happy"? More hints: Two people flirt in a very inappropriate setting, and there's a high-speed car chase down I-95.
G…
Whenever there's a dinner party in a play, chances are it's going to end badly. Friends get together for a good meal, a nice bottle of wine. Next thing you know, someone insults someone else…
Hey, Rahim, is that a bomb in your briefs, or are you happy to see us? The title of Jon Kern's new play should give a clue.
Indeed, it's option A for Rahim (Utkarsh Ambudkar), a young Pakis…
Much like the celestial body of its title, the new pop opera "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812" has appeared out of nowhere to brighten the theatrical season.
Instead of flashy ads …
Edward Albee's classic dust-up "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" may now be eligible for AARP " this new Broadway revival opened Saturday, the play's 50th anniversary " but it's a model of wr…
"Don't Go Gentle" starts like a classic "when opposites collide" comedy: A white, conservative former DA and retired judge helps out a black, unemployed single mom and her cheeky teenage son…
